SC suspends Kohat judge

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday suspended additional sessions judge Kohat Syed Asgher Shah for granting bail to provincial minister Nisar Gul. The court also directed the Peshawar High Court to investigate the matter, take action against those responsible and submit a report by June 11.

The three-member bench led by the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken suo moto notice of the alleged abduction of a girl from Karak named Nabila by the minister, with the connivance of jail constables. Shah admitted in court that he was at fault for having granted bail to Gul.

The chief justice told off the sessions judge for having granted bail for a non-bailable offence. “You are not fit to be a judge since you violated the constitution and the law under political pressure,” said Chaudhry.

Later, the minister for prison Mian Nisar Gul himself appeared before the bench along with his counsel Qazi Muhammad Anwar and submitted that the Taliban had attacked him twice or thrice and therefore the jail constables had been appointed for his personal security.

To this, Justice Ramday quipped, “Now we will send you to jail and 5,000 jail officials will protect you from life threats from the Taliban to you,” quipped Justice Ramday.

Later, Advocate-General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa informed the bench that an application has been moved in the Peshawar High Court seeking cancellation of Gul’s pre-arrest bail.

The bench adjourned the hearing till June 11.

Published in the Express Tribune, May 29th, 2010.